Forum 2013

Participants of the third Baku International Humanitarian Forum of which held October 31 – November 1, 2013 included 7 former Presidents, 13 Nobel Prize laureates, 7 Emeritus Professors, 107 world-famous public and political figures. Overall, 800 participants, representing 70 countries and 5 international organizations, took part in the Forum.

I. Converging Technologies and Outlines of the Future: Landmark Challenges of the 21st Century

Round tables

Declaration

I. Converging Technologies and Outlines of the Future: Landmark Challenges of the 21st Century

Round table began at 9:30AM on 1 November 2013, in the ‘Segah’ Grand Ballroom of ‘Four Seasons’ Hotel. Moderator of the round table was the Director of the Institute of Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, Prof. Nazim Mamedov (Azerbaijan). With his opening speech, President of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, academician Akif Ali-zadeh (Azerbaijan) noted the importance of the Forum and the relevance of topics on which to discover the discussion sections during the round table. He also gave a short summary for each of the three working sessions – on quantum computing, breakthroughs in the study of matter and green energy. Academician Ali-zadeh at the end thanked all the guests for their consent to participate in roundtable discussions and gave the floor to the chairmen of the first working session ‘Quantum Computing’ – Prof. Dan Shechtman (Nobel Prize Winner for Chemistry in 2011, Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Israel) and prof. Nazim Mamedov (Institute of Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan).

Prof. Dan Shechtman opening session ‘Quantum computing’ noted that the discussion will be presented on 5 performances, announced information about the schedule of speeches and invited Prof. Jaewan Kim (Korea Institute of Advanced Study, South Korea) for the first performance report ‘Overview of Quantum Computing and Quantum Information Science and Technology’. Prof. Kim noted that if in the XX century achievements of quantum physics allows us to create different equipment based on it, in the XXI century society is able to expand the applications of quantum physics even to create the software and operation systems. This is mainly achieved through greater understanding of the principle of superposition and quantum parallelism. Based on this principle quantum computing became more rapid and wide. He cited specific examples, such as the quantum Fourier transform, quantum simulation and especially quantum cryptography, which today is absolutely safe method of data transfer and digital communications. He also noted the effect of entangled states that in contrast with the classical approach allows teleportation or more correctly, quantum teleportation. Prof. Kim told about the differences between the classical and quantum computing, explained in detail difference about qubit information and bit of information, and shown how in general communication channels works in terms of the two-qubit channels. A detailed review of the known quantum keys used in quantum cryptography was also carried out. During questions to the speaker, it was clarified that due to the safety when exposed to the initial wave function, this function is destroyed and in general quantum system works on this principle.

Vice-president of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Academician Sergei Aldoshin (Russian Federation), in his report entitled ‘Entangled Electronic States of Paramagnetic Nitrosyl Iron Complexes and Prospects of Their Application’, gave an example of the discovery of a new substance, which is of great interest in terms of quantum computing. This substance is a very simple molecule that consists of two atoms – nitrogen and oxygen – and called NO. The substance has a great influence on the cardiovascular system. In 1998, Robert Furchgott, Louis Ignarro and Ferid Murad were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine for discovery of the role of this molecule as a messenger molecule in the regulation of the cardiovascular system. Academician Aldoshin also brought new results of collaboration of several scientific institutions of the Russian Federation, which allow you to apply the same molecules for quantum computing, creating the basis for their entangled electronic states. During discussions on the report, director of the Institute of Chemistry of Additives of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, academician Vagif Farzaliev (Azerbaijan) thanked the speaker for his interesting presentation and noted that Academician Nikolai Markovich Emanuel had predicted impact of hydrocarbon oxidation also understatement growth of malignant tumors, and one of these inhibitors is nitrosyl – iron. Reporter confirmed that indeed this molecule was first studied in Moscow by Nicholai Markovich’s group, but unfortunately has not been brought before the discovery of its signaling properties. Academician Aldoshin also noted that obtained medications are at clinical stage testing and they are hoping that some of them will come to the market at last.

Continuing the theme of quantum computing, a professor at Ghent University Joris Van der Jeugt (Belgium) presented a talk entitled ‘Quantum Computing: Communication Channels by State Transfer in Spin Chains’. He spoke in detail about the idea of ​​creating quantum processors, and showed that one of the ways of combining of quantum processors by the qubit transmission channels are linear spin chains with fermions. Prof. Van der Jeugt also showed that in the presence of fermions interacting with the nearest neighbors in the chain the opportunity of zero-loss information transfer occurs. In his report, he demonstrated a mathematical instrument of that zero-loss transmission. During the discussions, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry of 1992, Professor Rudolph Marcus (California Institute of Technology, United States) said that the speaker showed just two examples of information transfer without loss, but in principle probably there are other examples for such spin chains. Prof. Van der Jeugt replied that there is also a q-deformed orthogonal polynomials scheme and one can construct similar spin chains using their properties. For such chains one can also send information without any loss.

Professor Enver Nakhmedov (University of Würzburg, Germany; Institute of Physics, Azerbaijan) continued the theme on quantum computing with the report ‘Majorana Fermions in One-Dimensional Metals with Superconducting and Charge-Density-Wave Instabilities’. The report was based on the effect of possible conversion of the metal wire with spin-orbit interaction and Zeeman magnetic field in quantum topologically ordered state in the presence of superconducting or charge-density wave instabilities. Speaker noted that such states generate excited Majorana fermions, and non-Abelian statistics such fermions, just allows the same topological insulators to be used for quantum computing.

Professor Naotaka Uchitomi (Nagaoka University of Technology, Japan) was the last speaker of the ‘Quantum Computing’ section report of ‘Progress and Prospect of Ferromagnetic Materials for InP-based Semiconductor Spintronics’. Reporter made ​​a detailed overview on the latest developments of three advanced technologies – electronics, photonics and magnetism. Further, he noted that the ferromagnetic semiconductors are of particular interest today from the scientific and technological point of view because of their potential application to create a new generation of spintronic devices. Many research groups, including the group of prof. Uchitomi now focused in creating thin film materials that can behave as ferromagnets at different temperatures. One example – a thin film of Mn-doped ZnSnAs2, which behaves like a ferromagnetic of InP-based spintronics at room temperature. Half-metallic ferromagnets are also of great interest, since they are a source of spin-polarized current. ZB-type MnAs structure is one of such materials whose characteristics allow to use them as effective spin injectors in InP-based spin transistors.

Round table moderator, director of the Institute of Physics, National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, Prof. Nazim Mamedov (Azerbaijan) has announced the transition to the discussion on the working section ‘Breakthroughs in matter exploration’ and suggested that the Nobel Prize Winner for Chemistry of 1992, Professor Rudolph Marcus (California Institute of Technology, USA) and academician Tofig Nagiyev , Vice – President of the National Academy of Sciences (Azerbaijan) to preside in the first part of this section. Professor Marcus introduced the first speaker, Nobel Prize Winner in Physics of 2004, Professor David Gross (Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, USA). Prof. Gross presented a report titled ‘Exploring the Nature of Matter’. He noted that his report covers the study of the nature of matter in the broad sense. Questions raised in the report – what the matter consists of, and what is the structure of our Universe? The matter can be created in two ways. The first is the creation of matter in the laboratory. For example, in chemistry, where we can create molecules of atoms. Today we have in our hands very powerful tools for this, both experimentally and theoretically. Another matter around us is condensed matter, consisting of atoms studied by means of laws of general physics. Another form of matter is matter, which is created from elementary particles. 2000 years ago, Democritus said that all matter is composed of elementary particles and he called them atoms. A hundred years ago, Rutherford was able to split atoms themselves into more elementary particles. Discovery that the atom itself consists of a nucleus and electrons orbiting around it, made ​​it possible to create a good atom model for theorists. Bohr atom theory, the centenary of which we celebrate this year, was a simple model, but this model has served as the soil structure of quantum mechanics. That theoretical quantum mechanics later allowed us to fully understand the structure of matter and all its forms around us. Everything is started with the atomic theory, understanding the structure of atoms, and the periodic table of chemical elements made ​​part of chemistry physics, possible to explain the molecular structure of atoms. But in terms of elementary particles, the main issue of the last century was the question: what happens inside nuclei themselves? This question was interesting because in the center of the atom is a small positive nucleus, which constitute the essential mass of atom. Until now, the method of Rutherford is not outdated. Then he faces the target with alpha particles, and today in many experiments we are doing the same. If we took and pushed two of Swiss watches towards each other with great force, small parts of these watches would be scattered in different directions. And then, if we started to study these smaller parts in order to understand how to construct a Swiss watch, then our method of their research would be considered stupid. But this method is not stupid in the case of elementary particles, and now a hundred years as we follow the Rutherford method in our research. We not only follow, but during these hundred years we have been able to find answers to almost all questions about the structure of the nucleus. We can confidently say that in addition to electrons around, the kernel itself consist of more elementary and strange particles – quarks. Their strangeness is because we can never observe quarks directly. But not only this. We can also understand what forces act between elementary particles. Especially this understanding allowed us to create a unified theory of elementary particles and forces of interactions (in the framework of quantum mechanics) that make up matter itself. Although pure math inherently, this theory has been tested in thousands of experiments in quantum mechanics, were carried out and a lot of precise measurements. This theory is the Standard Model or the standard theory. In this theory, a number of elementary particles – quarks, which make up the protons and neutrons, which are part of the atomic nuclei, leptons and neutrinos, which are linked together, and heavy quarks and leptons found in the last 50 years, as well as the fields associated with interaction forces of elementary particles – electromagnetism of photons, the strong interaction of gluons and W, Z bosons of the weak interactions, and the most recent Higgs field and particle, associated with this field. All of them together explain the fundamental matter of the universe. This theory is very successful, because it is true for the very small distances. The most important particle – the Higgs boson has been found one and a half year ago using Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Three years ago we’ve started experiments in it. Researchers collected 10 billion cases of collisions of protons, save all data and analyzing all these data searched for at least one incident of a billion, which would indicate the existence of a boson. This analysis was done within the CMS and ATLAS, a collaboration of thousands of scientists from around the world. To find such isolated cases in the saved data still had to overcome a huge amount of background effects of various other decays. In short, if we take the three forces of interaction, we can see that they can be combined in a very short distances. Now the next goal is to unite all the forces of interaction. It is possible for quite short distances. And the main issue is to make gravity be tangible in the same scale. And make truthful analyzes in these areas is very difficult. Many theorists believe that on such a scale there are new additional measures. These arrangements differ from conventional measures and they lead to new symmetries. In such symmetries is possible the existence of new forms of matter. Theorists see them indirectly. They are called dark matter. This is the same as in the galaxy we see stars that form the Milky Way, but did not see the dark matter around stars that also exists. There is a view formed today that the main mass of matter is the dark matter. And we are confident that in the next decade new forms of matter will be discovered for sure. On the question of Professor Mais Suleymanov (Institute of Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan) that before the discovery of the Higgs boson a lot of discussion about the physics beyond the Standard Model has been done. What we can say about such physics today? The reporter noted that this was due basically because of that boson itself was not detected, but it is now found, but there is still some unclearness. In fact, there are a lot of reasons for this. One of them – dark matter. We also still cannot explain the mass of quarks and leptons. Our theory is powerless to do this for today. There are a lot of reasons to create a new physics beyond the Standard Model. This is only the beginning. LHC at CERN has shown only 5% of the Collider’s capabilities. Many of us believe that in the next 10-15 years we will see very important discoveries.

The next speaker, Professor Tadeusz Kurtyka of the European Organization for Nuclear Research – CERN (Switzerland) presented its report entitled ‘International Collaboration in Particle Physics Experiments – Recent Achievements and Future Challenges’. He gave brief information about CERN, spoke about the construction of the LHC in collaboration with different experts from around the world. Prof. Kurtyka gave detailed information about the detectors, used in the LHC experiments. For clarity, he has showed in the comparison the photos of the Maiden Tower in Baku and the ATLAS detector at the LHC. It was noted that 27 countries are now the members of the CERN and 11,000 employees in 100 countries working in this organization. In short, CERN unites people of different nationalities as well as different professions and scientific interests. Some examples of specific projects of such unity were given. Prof. Kurtyka also noted that thanks to the JINR in Dubna (Russia), CERN was able to establish close relations with the former Soviet republics. He specifically thanked the Azerbaijan research group for their contribution to the collaboration of ATLAS. In the end, the speaker gave detailed information on the future work of the LHC experiments.

The next speaker was Professor Nicholay Rusakovitch (Joint Institute for Nuclear Research – JINR, Russian Federation). He has presented a report titled ‘Joint Institute for Nuclear Research Today and Tomorrow‘. Speaker noted that 18 countries are members of JINR and 6 more countries are associate members of the international organization. 4500 employees now work at JINR. JINR goals are exactly the same as at CERN. Prof. Rusakovitch also gave detailed information about the available JINR equipment and installations and projects for various research areas. At the end the speaker talked about the transfer of technologies under the JINR.

The latest in the first part of this section by Professor Mais Suleymanov (Institute of Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan) with the report titled ‘Azerbaijan and Pakistan in ALICE’. The speaker spoke about the scientific idea of ​​the ALICE experiment, and the contribution of Azerbaijani and Pakistani researchers to analyze the data collected for the detection of the quark-gluon plasma.

After the lunch break, the moderator of the round table , the director of the Institute of Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan , Professor Nazim Mamedov (Azerbaijan) announced the continuation of discussions relating to the working section of ‘Breakthroughs in Matter Exploration’ and proposed to Nobel Prize Winner in Physics of 2004 Professor David Gross (Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics, USA) and academician Akif Hajiyev, vice-President of National Academy of Sciences (Azerbaijan) to chair the second part of this section. Professor Gross has introduced the first speaker of this part of the working section Prof. Dan Shechtman (Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, Israel) winner of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2011. Prof. Shechtman has presented a report titled ‘Current Challenges in Materials Science and Engineering’. He noted that many of the achievements are related to materials science. The development in materials science has reached such a rate that the evolution has led to a revolution. Also, there were some fields of industry, such as aviation or automotive industry, which cannot develop anymore by revolutionary rate because materials science today is not able to give them what these industries require. For example, it is now reached the limits of improvement the certain properties of metals, which play an important role in the structure of the aircraft. Possession of good material with potential application is not the solution. Because further we have to make the necessary alloys and such production is not only takes a long time, but still very expensive. Therefore, to obtain the necessary alloy for use in aircraft may be delayed for years. Next, prof. Shechtman gave specific examples of such materials and talked about the so-called compound titanium aluminum, the use of which in the production of aircraft jet extends for 40 years. He noted that the same problems exist in the mass production of electric cars. In medicine a similar problem with using stands for inborn heart defects of children when these stands in the early period work fine to open blood vessels in children. But, these children grow up over the years, and stands still remain on the previous scale. And then in adult children stand does not extend and in fact on the contrary constricts blood vessels, and this problem leads to death at the end, which is very bad. Other examples were shown as well. During the discussions, prof. Gross and prof. Shechtman discussed jewelry market and problems connecting this market with materials science. Next question was asked about the damage to environment using new materials. Prof. Shechtman asked a reciprocal question which of presented new materials in his report poisons the environment? He has listed his examples again, and said that, in his opinion, none of them harms the environment. Another question was asked about microdiamond-doped metals, which are widely used in high energy physics. Prof. Shechtman noted that most of the world’s diamonds are very small in size and they are used in many industries. For example, hardness of diamonds has used for digging tunnels. Generally, in the world there are many kinds of diamonds exist. There are plenty of them in the different private companies. But they have very clever strategic business behavior, that’s why these diamonds are slowly appearing on the market. Therefore, the prices of diamond products are always high. Prof. Gross made ​​a remark that the same thing happens with the oil business and thanked the speaker for a very interesting presentation.

Debate continued by Professor Xi-Cheng Zhang from the Institute of Optics, University of Rochester (USA). He presented a paper titled ‘New rays? T- Rays!’. The speaker noted that the University of Rochester is a focus of contemporary American optics. Thence, 10 years ago, when the accident with the shuttle Columbia were occurred and seven astronauts were died, the group led by prof. Zhang has given the task to work on correcting of shortcomings of the shuttle lagging, which are the cause of the accident. Then, they have decided to use the terahertz frequency range between thermal insulation and aluminum body of the shuttle, because, terahertz waves can’t pass through metals. Prof. Zhang noted that the terahertz range is brand new and exciting science today. He substantiated his words by more detailed description of the properties and phenomena in the terahertz range waves. During the discussions, the director of the Institute of Physics of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, prof. Nazim Mamedov (Azerbaijan) said that in addition to the terahertz frequency range, there are many other important bands in which you can achieve similar results. The question then arises as: which of these ranges is most important or what is the main range and others just complement it. Or conversely, may all ranges be equal? Prof. Zhang noted that the terahertz range have some differences, for example, can detect toxic substances etc., they also provide us with information about the presence of the primary phonons. Therefore, in his opinion, terahertz rays as well as X-rays, have complementary factors.

The last speaker in the working section of ‘Breakthroughs in Matter Explorations’ was Professor Konstantin Anokhin of the National Research Center ‘Kurchatov Institute’, Russian Federation, the report of whom was called ‘Cognitome: a Research Framework into the Matter of the Brain’. Reporter noted that he is a neurologist, and for the past 30 years neurology develops at such rates, that it has solved the most difficult problems associated with the human brain. And the term ‘cognitom’ was introduced by him to science a couple of years ago. Reporter further explained in details the meaning of ‘cognitome’ for the study of matter, which makes up the brain. Professor David Gross of Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics (USA) commenting on the report noted that Wigner often said that in his opinion, he does not understand quantum mechanics and, in particular, the collapse of the wave functions. Speaker at the beginning showed the pictures, where the centers appear to be local, and it comes into conflict with the nonlocality of the networks cubes in the idea itself, and the speaker himself noted that, in principle, those centers are not non-localized but highly distributed.

With this report, the discussion on the working section ‘Breakthroughs in Matter Exploration’ has been completed and after the coffee break, the President of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, academician Akif Alizadeh (Azerbaijan) has invited Nobel Prize Winner in Physics of 1985, Professor Klaus von Klitzing (Max Plank Institute for Solid State Research, Germany) and Vice-President of the National Academy of Sciences, academician Ibragim Quliyev (Azerbaijan) to preside in the last section of the work of the round table named ‘Green Energy’. Prof. Klaus von Klitzing noted that the working section has 6 scheduled reports. Of course, these reports do not cover the entire problem as a whole, but they are dedicated to the most innovative ideas within the theme. After that, he gave the word to the Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry of 1992, Professor Rudolph Marcus (California Institute of Technology, USA), who presented a joint report with Professor Maria-Elizabeth Michel-Beyerle from Nanyang Technological University (Singapore) entitled ‘Fundamentals in Harvesting of Light in Photovoltaic Devices’. Prof. Marcus noted that most of the report will focus on the collection of light and electron transfer processes, for which he have received the Nobel Prize. If analyze in details, you’ll find a lot of unexpected developments in the history of science. He listed some of these developments appeared in the XIX century. The solar energy can be used to produce other forms of energy such as electric energy, by using various techniques. One of these methods is the direct conversion of solar energy into electrical energy in an electrochemical device in which is necessary to use this energy instantly instead of storing it in the storage. The basic principle in all photovoltaic devices, regardless of whether they are synthetic or natural, is to collect light. The main process here – the process of ‘transfer of electrons’. Reporter described the occurrence of such processes in general and gave the example of solar cells sensitized by dyes that require liquid components to achieve high efficiency. He also noted that the large-scale use of such materials is currently developed. During the discussions, Professor von Klitzing and Marcus have discussed the similarities of the hot conditions in the chemistry with similar effects in semiconductor physics.

The second speaker in the last working section was Professor Su-Huai Wei of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory – NREL (USA). He has presented a talk titled ‘First-principles Design of Functional Materials for Green Energy Applications’. He noted that the computational design using techniques of first-principles of functional materials is one of the main objectives in the computational materials science. He has showed examples of how to use the computational methods to understand and create functional materials for energy, including photovoltaic materials, transparent conductive oxides, hydrogen storage materials, electrical or thermal energy, as well as materials for solid state lighting. During the discussions, prof. von Klitzing said that in the presented calculations he did’t take into account the sizes of quantum dots or wires. It is also very important for the design of materials. Round table moderator, Prof. Mamedov said that, by decreasing sizes, we have difficulties due to the penetration of photons in the structure. Therefore, we must find a way to recover the loss in this case. He does not think that this can be achieved only via computational design of materials. To this comment the speaker said that he agreed, therefore there are already different models that take the advantages of optics etc.

After this report, the presiding prof. von Klitzing gave word to the next speaker Professor Jerome C. Glenn, representing ‘The Millenium Project’ (USA). His report was entitled ‘New Efficiencies, Green Energy Technologies, and Energy-Collective Intelligence to help address our Global Challenges’. Reporter noted that in recent years the technology rapidly develops, the sizes reduce and exotic innovations appear such as nano-sensors or speech recognizers, etc. and all of these technologies are converting the natural environment to an artificial. He further informed the audience about some of the initiatives, such as 10-year American-Chinese initiative to study climate change, energy, sea water based agriculture, synthetic biology for hydrogen production using photosynthesis, etc.

The chairman thanked prof. Glenn for an interesting report and the word presented to Professor Lutz Metz from the Freie University of Berlin (Germany). He presented a talk titled ‘Towards a Green Energy System – Status and Perspectives of the Energy Transition in Europe’. Prof. Metz noted that there is an issue existing now that the huge demand for energy from the industrialized countries and the steady increase in demand for energy in developing countries must somehow be met in the future, and there is a discussion about: Can we replace fossil and nuclear power sources on a global level? Many European countries is in transition and replacement of the coal industry, oil, natural gas and nuclear energy by renewable energy sources (solar, wind, hydro, geothermal, and biomass) is taking place and energy efficiency rise is already happening. In short, green energy is the only long-term alternative for mineral fuel and has great perspectives for the future.

The next speaker was Dr. Kemal Oksuz representing Turkic Council of Americans and Eurasians – TCAE (USA). His report was called ‘Green Energy and Technology in the United States’. He also supported the previous speaker and noted in particular that now an industry in the United States relies heavily on coal, oil and natural gas in terms of energy consumption. It is obvious that these fuels are non-renewable, so their resources are limited and they will eventually shrink, become too expensive or will cause more harm to the environment during their production. In contrast, many forms of renewable energy such as wind and solar energy are constantly replenished and will never run out. Therefore, renewable energy is very important for America. Firstly, green energy technologies are clean sources of energy that have a much lower impact on the environment compared to conventional energy technologies. Secondly, the development of environmentally friendly sources, particularly renewable energy in America, is creating a lot of jobs, allowing to improve the local and regional economy, strengthening of national security and helping to stop global warming. Some of these technologies for use of renewable sources are already making an important contribution to the internal energy, and using by lots of local people. Other technologies are not used in large quantities, but also have a great potential to become part of the national energy supply, but should be improved for sustainability and environmental protection.

Prof. von Klitzing thanked the speaker for an interesting presentation and announced last talk of the round table. Professor Jörg Friedrichs (University of Oxford, UK) presented his report titled ‘The Carbon Curse: Are Fuel Rich Countries Doomed to High Emissions of CO2?’. He noted that the report was based on his recent work, published in the ‘Journal of Energy Policy’. Carbon curse in principle a new theory, but this theory is different from the resource curse. The theory is based that the development of carbon-rich deposits are heavily dependent on them, and is fundamentally different from developing countries without such deposits. The main problem is that the countries themselves produce a lot of CO2 during the production of hydrocarbons. Secondly, if a country has a huge amount of oil, the fuel displaces all other fuels in its economy. Thirdly, the large oil reserves allow to invest a large money in energy efficiency. Finally, the governments of oil-rich emit a huge amount of economically unjustified subsidies than other countries. All these is resulting heavily dependence on these raw materials of the oil-rich economies. Only the economy of Norway may be an exception.

In conclusion, the President of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan, academician Akif Alizadeh (Azerbaijan) read a preliminary version of the declaration of the Third Humanitarian Forum and suggested to take this version as a basis with a few modifications, and thanked all the participants of the round table for fruitful work and announced about closing of the work of round table.

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- guided by the United Nations Millennium Declaration and the agenda for the post-2015 period, and also taking account of the vast influence of the level of scientific knowledge and humanitarian cooperation achieved at the present time on the transformation of society;

- seeking to make our contribution to the process of realizing the Millennium Development Goals and setting the agenda on this for the post-2015 period with the aim of concentrating efforts and resources in the priority areas for development;

- taking into account the need to achieve solidarity at every level of interstate and regional cooperation, and equally the relevance of scientific, humanitarian and cultural integration in ensuring sustainable development;

- recognizing that the current level of development of information technology, world communications and transport systems and the growing opportunities for the global mobilization of human potential create the conditions for a new level of dialogue between cultures and civilizations;

- drawing attention to the fact that the stimulus of the economy, founded on the uninterrupted increase of consumption, should inevitably have its resource, ethical and humanitarian limitations;

- considering that one of the reasons for the continuing deterioration of the environment throughout the world is the irrational structure of consumption and production, which deepens the existing disproportionality in development and is a cause for serious concern;

- calling on the political, cultural and scientific elite, international organizations and representatives of civil society to strengthen cooperation in the era of globalization in line with the demands of the new humanitarian ethics that are coming into their own;

- realizing that much remains to be done to ensure the preservation of key factors of sustainable human development and the encouragement of the knowledge-based economy, invoking achievements made in such areas as:

– converging technologies and landmark challenges of the 21st Century;
– humanitarian aspects of economic development;
– scientific innovations and their transfer into education;
– multiculturalism and originality;
– national identity in the postmodern era;
– sustainable development and ecological civilization;
– achievements in molecular biology and biotechnology;
– the topical issues of mass media in the globalizing information network;

- we note that the contemporary challenges and threats related to the convergence of managerial and production technology have acquired a global character and demand increased attention from the international community from the point of view of the exposure of new dominant factors in the development of society;

- we recognize that the development of human potential through the transformation of scientific innovations in the education system occupies a central place in efforts to ensure the sustainability of the development process and that reinforcing cooperation in this area is the most important humanitarian component of development;

- we note the achievements of many countries, including Azerbaijan, in multiculturalism and consider it necessary to study the experience acquired as a component of the state policy of different countries aimed at achieving consensus in society;

- we pay special attention to the need to cover the problems of multiculturalism in the media in order to avert xenophobia, racism, intolerance, and also in order to shape a culture of tolerance;

- we express our conviction that in the postmodern era a careful and respectful attitude towards different manifestations of national self-awareness, patience, dialogue and cooperation in an atmosphere of trust and mutual understanding are the best guarantees of peace and security;

- we affirm the need to use the principles of sustainable development and call on all countries to ensure planning and consumption at a level of sensible sufficiency and to achieve a way of life that meets the demands of ecological civilization and ecological ethics;

- we realize the need to develop technology based on the achievements of molecular biology and biotechnology, in order to improve the quality and length of life and to eliminate differences in these indicators evident in the world at the present time;

- we call on international structures and different humanitarian organizations to systematically hold forums, conferences, discussions and round tables with the aim of holding a dialogue of cultures and creating an atmosphere of tolerance;

- we note the need to hold this type of forum every year and express our deep gratitude to the President and government of Azerbaijan, the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and all the organizers of the Baku International Humanitarian Forum for holding such a major event, turning Baku on 31 October and 1 November this year into a centre of discussion of humanitarian problems;

- we consider it necessary to pass this declaration and use it with the aim of organizing international humanitarian cooperation and assistance to ensure effective coordination in this regard.

Summary of speeches by participants of the plenary session

The Special Representative of the Russian President for International Cultural Cooperation, Mikhail Shvydkoy, read the message on behalf of President Vladimir Putin to the participants of the Third Baku International Humanitarian Forum.

He said:

Dear President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev!

Your Excellency!

Ladies and gentlemen!

I am honored to be attending this forum because in a very short time the Baku Humanitarian Forum has become one of the world’s most important platforms, where the most significant, the most important problems of world development related to value problems are discussed, which is very important. Today we talk a lot about the problems associated with the value crisis, a crisis of civilization. But this is not the first time they have been encountered in the history of mankind. It is not for the first time that mankind has been looking for ways to overcome these problems.

Over the course of three years, Baku has become an important meeting place for people of different civilizations, different nationalities, different views of the world. This is where the tools that can save humanity from disaster are developed. For Russia it is a very important forum because it was established jointly by Russia and Azerbaijan.

This is a sign that we are extremely close peoples, the peoples who are bound together by history, the present and the future. Azerbaijan’s successes President Ilham Aliyev has just spoken about so impressively are very important for us, because the successes of the Azerbaijani people cause a huge upsurge of joy and enthusiasm of the Russian people. We are two close peoples, two close states, and it is important to note that the victory won by the President of Azerbaijan in the recent election is also a joy for all the peoples of the Russian Federation.

I have the honor of reading out a welcoming message on behalf of the President of the Russian Federation to the participants and guests of the Third Baku International Humanitarian Forum.

Mikhail Shvydkoy read the message of President Vladimir Putin.

The address says: “Ladies and gentlemen! Dear friends! I cordially greet the participants, guests and organizers of the Third Baku International Humanitarian Forum.

The authority of this major international event is growing every year. This time too, the forum held under the patronage of the heads of state of Russia and Azerbaijan brings together prominent politicians, scientists and intellectuals from dozens of countries. Our agenda is growing more diverse and rich. But its unifying character, the common desire of participants towards establishing mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of science, education, culture and art remains unchanged.

I am convinced that the meaningful and useful discussions to be held during the forum, the new ideas and initiatives will be implemented through real projects and contribute to trust, mutual understanding and good neighborly relations between peoples.

I wish you fruitful work and all the best.

President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin”

Х Х Х

A message from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was read out by the acting UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan, Doug Sigurdson. He said:

– Mr. President, Your Excellency!

Distinguished guests and participants of this authoritative forum!

Ladies and gentlemen!

As acting Resident Coordinator of the UN Office in Azerbaijan, I would like to bring to your attention an address of Mr. Ban Ki-moon.

Doug Sigurdson read a letter of Ban Ki-moon.

The letter said: “I greet the participants of the Third Baku International Humanitarian Forum.

I express my gratitude to the Government of Azerbaijan for hosting this event.

I want to emphasize that Azerbaijan has invited prominent people from various fields to the forum. The UN is also always ready to bring together representatives of government agencies, humanitarian and economic circles.

This cooperation should not be limited to the borders of countries. People of all countries want to live in an environment free of conflict and discrimination. This is an era of great opportunities. People can contribute to our common progress. Governments should strive to resolve the problems of women, children and all citizens.

In order to meet the Millennium Development Goals, we should strive to eradicate poverty. Due to the climate change, we need to adopt a universal program for the period beyond 2015 in this regard, the main principle of which should also be sustainable development. We should strive to cope with all the crises. In this series it is also important to resolve the humanitarian crisis in Syria.

It is necessary to achieve a peaceful solution to the issue, which would reflect the will of the people of Syria. From this perspective, we support the efforts to eliminate the chemical program of this country.

There is a deplorable situation in Africa today. In December, 394,000 people were driven out of their homes in the Central African Republic. From this point of view, the United Nations is doing its part to prevent violence. We need the support of the international community.

I am sure that each of you will contribute to the resolution of various crises. We want to achieve development. I wish this Forum every success in its collaboration efforts.

Thank you!

Ban Ki-moon

UN Secretary-General”

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Then a video address of UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova to the participants of the Forum was shown.

The address said: “Ladies and gentlemen, It is a great honor for me to address the Third Baku International Forum.

Being held for the third time, the Forum has become a global platform and an excellent means of discussing various humanitarian issues of concern to humanity.

The topics of this Forum such as sustainable development, science and education, multiculturalism, etc. represent the main activity directions of UNESCO. From this point of view, the Forum is an important activity in ensuring sustainable peace and stability. These are very difficult issues, but they are the main topics on the agenda of human development.

The development of science and the dissemination of scientific knowledge is a very important matter. Education is our most important topic. All people, men and women alike, must contribute so overall progress on this issue.

Today societies are going through a period of very deep transformation. There is a certain inequality here. For UNESCO, it is humanistic agenda number one. Protection of the rights and dignity of the individual is the most important and the main task. Therefore, we have set an ambitious goal of forming the agenda on this issue after 2015.

I wish success all the participants of the Third Baku International Humanitarian Forum every success and express my special appreciation to the Government of Azerbaijan. In particular, I express my gratitude to His Excellency Mr. Ilham Aliyev for the initiative. I wish you fruitful work and believe that you make important decisions.”

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Addressing the Forum, ISESCO Director General Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri congratulated President Ilham Aliyev on his reelection as head of the Azerbaijani state.

Noting that Azerbaijan’s rapid development would be continued, Abdulaziz Othman Altwaijri said:

– First of all, I congratulate His Excellency Mr. Ilham Aliyev on his reelection to the post of President of Azerbaijan. I wish His Excellency permanent success. Without a doubt, under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev Azerbaijan is committed to promoting peace both at the regional and international levels and makes great efforts for the development of tolerance and dialogue. This is an issue that lies at the heart of international relations. The Baku International Humanitarian Forum, as well as Azerbaijan’s other international initiatives, is a great indicator. Azerbaijan is working on a variety of adequate dialogue mechanisms to achieve cooperation and understanding in the world.

Unfortunately, despite the diversity of the media, radicalism is getting the upper hand at the moment. There is racial discrimination today. The most frustrating issue in this regard is the occupation of Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh. The grave consequences of that include ethnic cleansing and the destruction of historical and cultural sites. Despite the fact that the UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on the settlement of the conflict, the occupation still continues.

The Palestinian issue also remains unresolved. These protracted conflicts demonstrate yet again that the Security Council is not coping with its duty of ensuring peace. This is very frustrating. The issue of ensuring peace, stability and justice should be the main theme not only of this but also of other forums.

Your Excellency Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen. This Forum is being held at a very critical juncture of history, when conflicts and confrontations occur in different parts of the world, especially in the Muslim world, while the international community is not able to cope with that. This is not just a great danger, it is an issue threatening the stability of the region. At the same time, it poses a threat to human development and international relations.

Stressing that the Baku Humanitarian Forum is of particular importance from the standpoint of studying the issues that lie at the heart of such concerns as violence, isolation, extremism and Islamophobia, the ISESCO Director General said:

– We believe that the Third Baku International Humanitarian Forum, which brings together leaders, policy makers and researchers in various fields, will contribute to the protection of human rights, tolerance and dialogue. We will arrive at a world built on international law. This is the main goal of the Baku forum. Thank you!

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The ninth President of Turkey, Suleyman Demirel, also congratulated Ilham Aliyev on his reelection as President of Azerbaijan.

Expressing his satisfaction with the high level of organization of the Forum, Suleyman Demirel said:

First of all, let me express my deep gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev for the fact that he invited me to this representative event. I would like to highlight the excellent organization and hospitality. It gives me great satisfaction to address such a distinguished audience today.

First of all, I would like to congratulate my dear friend, President Ilham Aliyev and all the people of Azerbaijan on his reelection as head of state. I would like to once again convey my congratulations on electing Ilham Aliyev as President of the Republic of Azerbaijan for a third term.

Two years ago I participated in the First Baku International Humanitarian Forum. Today, I have been deeply impressed by the beauty of Baku.

Dear Mr. President! This is clear evidence of the development of Azerbaijan under your leadership. Azerbaijan has become a regional center for science, economics and other fields. Most importantly, Azerbaijan’s development is underpinned by the human factor. It is a very pleasant fact that the standards of living in Azerbaijan have dramatically improved. It is therefore natural that such a significant event is being held in Baku.

Touching upon the major changes taking place in the region and the world today, Suleyman Demirel said that these processes were accompanied by changes in global economic and political centers. He noted that the mission of safeguarding peace and stability in the world poses new challenges.

The President of Turkey highlighted the importance of consolidating all the efforts at the international level to address the challenges posed by population growth in the world. He indicated that without greater international cooperation and economic integration it is impossible to achieve complete security and stability.

Noting that the Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani lands posed a threat to regional and international cooperation, Suleyman Demirel said:

– The unresolved status of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a major obstacle to the realization of the region’s potential.

Therefore, the conflict must be resolved as soon as possible. The main principle is to ensure the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Armenia has to realize this. Armenia has to understand that it too can benefit from the settlement of this conflict. It can improve its relations with both Azerbaijan and Turkey, because we live in a world of mutual cooperation today. Development alone does not produce only a positive impact. At the same time, the interconnectedness of problems creates greats additional difficulties.

Suleyman Demirel noted the need for cooperation of the international community in addressing the violations of the ecological balance, water shortages, piracy and other issues of concern to the whole world. Underlining that illiteracy is among these problems, the former President of Turkey praised Azerbaijan’s experience from this point of view:

– The population of the world should be literate. In this regard, Azerbaijan may become a model country. It is commendable that the country’s natural resources are transformed into the intellectual potential. This corresponds to the thesis of transforming “black gold” into human capital. Negative events are less likely to occur in countries with educated and competent human potential. These countries are dominated by dialogue and peace.

The ninth President of Turkey also noted the importance of the Baku Humanitarian Forum for the discussion of issues of concern and achievement of a consensus.

The official Opening Ceremony was succeeded by the Plenary Session.

First part of the Plenary Session was chaired by Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Mr. Arnold Rüütel, former President of the Republic of Estonia, made a speech about undergoing reforms in the member states of the European Union.

Saying “Humanistic approach to problems should be based on values”, Mr. Rüütel highlighted Estonia’s support to European Union’s Eastern Partnership Program and the resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Furthermore, he delivered his thoughts on sustainable development, broad use of technological advancements, and the solutions of social problems.

Mr. Sjepan Mesic, former President of the Republic of Croatia, indicated that the Baku International Humanitarian Forum is devoted to the discussion on issues of utmost importance. He stated that it is unimaginable to think of Europe without multiculturalism. The future of the world lies in the provision of multiculturalism and Europe Union would be effective organization only if it embraces such values.

Mr. Emil Constantinescu, former President of Romania, delivered his thanks to President Ilham Aliyev for his support to the high-level organization of the Forum. In his speech, touching upon issues on education and knowledge, Mr. Constantinescu stressed that they are locomotive of development in all societies.

Mr. Valdis Zatlers, former President of the Republic of Latvia, thanked President Ilham Aliyev for the high-level organization of the Forum that had been conducted for the third time. He also highlighted the importance of continuance of the tradition of multiculturalism and its transformation into lifestyle. Mr. Zatlers shared Latvia’s experience on this matter with the Forum participants.

Mr. Georgi Parvanov, former President of the Republic of Bulgaria, expressed his gratitude for the kind hospitality and congratulated President Ilham Aliyev on his re-election as the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Mr. Parvanov described Baku International Humanitarian Forum as “a kind of laboratory for the exchange of ideas and experiences.” He paid special attention to energy and transportation in his speech on international economic relations. Mr. Parvanov expressed his confidence in the success of the Forum from the point of the intellectual level of participants.

“Baku raises its significance from year to year,” said Mr. Boris Tadic, former President of the Republic of Serbia. He added, “I am certain that it is crucial to open the floor for such discussions in the assembly of influential people.” By attracting attention to the importance of the resolution of conflicts that threaten peace in the world, Mr. Tadic expressed his disappointment over the lack of effectiveness of the international community as it had been before.

Mr. Elmar Mammadyarov joined the discussions and pointed out that all thoughts on multiculturalism sounded by President Ilham Aliyev indeed played a role of basic principle for each speech. He stated that views postulated by the former presidents once again confirm absence of alternative to multiculturalism.

Mr. Halil Akıncı, Secretary General of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States, expressed his views on transparent, fair and unbiased presidential elections in Azerbaijan and underlined the fact that their observations on the Election Day had proved it. Highly assessing the Forum’s traditions, Mr. Akıncı delivered his speech on the humanitarian projects implemented by the organization led by him.

Nobel Prize winners took the floor during the second part of the Plenary Session chaired by Prof. Akif Alizadeh, President of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan.

Talking about significance of the Forum, President of the Academy stressed the importance of conducting such events and noted indispensability of science and education in modern societies.

Prof. Klaus von Klitzing, Nobel Prize winner in physics, highlighted the significance of empowering United Nations to tackle the problems concerning mankind. He noted that human being had already harmed the environment. Therefore, scientists and engineers should immediately unite their efforts to find ways of preventing an environmental catastrophe.

Pointing out the indispensable role of energy in provision of high living standards, Prof. Klaus von Klitzing considered it crucial to do research over the improvement of renewable green energy sources. He put forward the fact that if we could not do it now, we would leave inevitable consequences for our future generations.

Expressing his pleasure to be in Azerbaijan, Prof. Rudolph Marcus, Nobel Prize winner in chemistry, enunciated that the scientific achievements of the past years are fascinating; huge advancement was made in science and it developed at an incredible pace. According to him, although science offers opportunities to prevent global warming, eradicate famine and develop medicine, it suffers to solve several problems.

Talking about the possibilities of bettering living standards as a result of sustainable development, Prof. Robert Lucas, Nobel Prize winner in economics, deemed the unity of international community key role player in this process. We, representatives of science, always make an effort to overcome problems. From this perspective, those societies which induce scientists’ activities develop. Impeding it leads to unbearable consequences. Therefore, such forums are significant.

Prof. Robert Laughlin, Nobel Prize winner in physics, made a speech about great changes in the world influenced by modern technologies, as well as the Internet. Noting modern technologies lead to substantial novelties, Prof. Laughlin brought problems of such developments to the attention of the audience. Sometimes there is inconsistency between the real facts and the ones that are obtained from the Internet; it results in deformation of young generation who strive for modern technologies because they do not have the capability to analyze mass information. Hence, organization of such esteemed events is of great importance to learn scientists’ thoughts.

Referring to his second consecutive participation in the Forum, Prof. Finn Kydland, Nobel Prize winner in economics, mentioned the significance of strong institutions in the fast development of countries. It has been noted that even well designed policy would fail, if essential institutions were weak.

Prof. Kydland emphasized that Azerbaijan was one of the countries experiencing rapid development during the last 10-15 years. Noting high competence of the Azerbaijani citizens, he underlined the importance of keeping education at the center of attention in order to realize long-term development.

Pointing to impressive changes and rapid development in Baku, Prof. David Gross, Nobel Prize winner in physics, underlined the fact that the Forum is organized with the quest for finding solutions to urgent problems. Indicating all the countries’ efforts to heed close attention to the development of education everywhere in the world, Prof. Gross put forward the unification of endeavors by the international community as a remedy to pressing problems concerning the mankind.

Prof. Edward Prescott, Nobel Prize winner in economics, talked about the necessity of effective management in sustainable development. Mentioning Azerbaijan’s rapid development, Prof. Prescott expressed his disappointment over lack of such satisfactory growth in several developed countries. “Azerbaijan has talented population and people continuously receive education”, Prof. Prescott said. He added, “if Azerbaijan carries on implementation of its efficient policies, the country will become well-developed.”

According to Prof. George Smoot, Nobel Prize winner in physics, if a problem is to be resolved, people should come together to step forward. Science and technology advance at an incredible pace that people could hardly comprehend. Therefore, most depends on education and puplic awareness. Our future will depend on how we apply technologies.

Emphasizing today’s achievements in the field of chemistry as a triumph of human intellect, Prof. Roger Kornberg, Nobel Prize winner in chemistry, declared boundaries among disciplines of science no longer exist in the contemporary period.

Prof. Kornberg mentioned rapid development of Azerbaijan and indicated that this development occured due to application of modern technologies and investment in human capital so that such factors creates room for economic growth in the country.

Prof. Ada Yonath, Nobel Prize winner in chemistry, made her speech about human health, recent developments in this field and, particularly, efforts in preparation of antibiotics. She notified the situation is dissatisfactory. It has been noted that sometimes patients pass away as a result of misuse of antibiotics. In today’s world, new generation of antibiotics and medicines are required because sensitive bacteria may frequently change its compound and resist antibiotics. Therefore, those antibiotics which considered effective 8-10 years ago have now lost their strength. Hence antibiotics should regularly be renewed.

Saying “we need talanted and competent individuals capable of contributing to the development of mankind,”Prof. Dan Shechtman, Nobel Prize winner in chemistry, noted the significance of such esteemed events that bring intellectuals together.

In his speech, Prof. Shechtman emphasized the importance of instilling science and modern technologies in people when they are young. The youth who are intersted in science will have positive attitude toward science in the future and it will contribute to the creation of scientific community. He noted Israel had started to invest efforts in doing so.

The final part of the Plenary Session was chaired by Mr. Mikayil Jabbarov, Minister of Education of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Greeting panelists of the session, Mr. Jabbarov stated that the progress in science and technologies had been incredible and fascinating. He posed a question whether this development could solve the problems of today and challenges of tomorrow. Then Mr. Jabbarov opened floor for discussion of round table topics of the next day.

Prof. Xi-Cheng Zhang, Director of the Institute of Optics of the University of Rochester (USA), took the floor as chairman of the round table “Converging Technologies and Outlines of the Future: Landmark Challenges of the 21st Century.”

Prof. Zhang based his speech on three points: quantum computing, matter exploration and green energy. According to him, the quantum computer would have massive processing power because it could do computational tasks in parallel and increase computing power in ways we could only began to imagine. Prof. Zhang touched upon issues of matter exploration and noted that physicists have yet to discover much matter and anti-matter. New artificial matters, which might not exist in nature, have recently been simulated, designed, tested, and used. Furthermore, he made his remarks on environmental problems and stated that the Earth’s atmosphere had been polluted by the use of fossil fuels; therefore, it was vital to find renewable, non-polluting alternatives.

Prof. Feridun Hamdullahpur, President of the University of Waterloo (Canada), was to chair the round table “Scientific Innovations and their Transfer into Education.”

Expressing his gratitude for invitation to the Forum, Prof. Hamdullahpur centered his speech on the role of higher education and its impact on societies. In our profoundly changed world, information is available to anybody in any time because of the Internet, whereas several decades ago information was accessible to very few individuals. He said that there are two types of global commodities: talent and knowledge. Societies have to invest in these commodities by focusing on students, getting them take knowledge into themselves, making information available. Students have to be critical thinkers because they are going to be the ones who will run economies, who will bring profound changes to environmental approach, who will find solutions to hunger, who will make the world understand values of democracy.

Mrs. Leyla Aliyeva, Vice President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and founder of the International Dialogue Initiative for Protection of Environment – IDEA (Azerbaijan) introduced the round table “Sustainable Development and Ecological Civilization.”

Mrs. Aliyeva stated that after the agricultural and industrial revolution establishing an ecological civilization had been the humanity’s most audacious dream. Combination of creativity and audacity has always been priority of the youth. According to her, there is no alternative to solving environmental problems and protecting our planet. She added, “If man does not change his attitude toward environment, future ecological disasters will pose a threat to humanity.” Mrs. Aliyeva further mentioned initiatives of the IDEA, the organization led by her. She informed that the IDEA had established international partnerships to promote dialogue, education, leadership and cooperation among the young people.

Mr. Mikhail Shvydkoi, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for International Cultural Cooperation (Russia), presented the round table “Multiculturalism and Originality: in Search of Value Consensus in Society.”

Mr. Shvydkoi emphasized that multiculturalism affected daily life; it affected politics, economics and social life. At the end of nineteenth and early twentieth century, we thought that we could socialize any ethnic group; they would adapt laws and principles of others. He added, “Today, we see that those theories and assumptions have failed.” Problems of multiculturalism is not contemporary, they had existed even 2 eras ago, however, under different circumstances; globalization has given different shape. Mr. Shvydkoi stated that multiculturalism was politicized to destabilize several regions. He further talked about positive and negative records of multiculturalism around the world. Mr. Shvydkoi forwarded a question whether it would be possible to apply common rules and norms of multiculturalism so that people could live together in unity.

Prof. Richard Burt, Chief of the Division of Immunotherapy of the Northwestern University (USA), took the floor as chairman of the round table “Achievements of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology: from Theory to Practice.”

Reminding Julius Caesar’s words, Prof. Burt reiterated that it is better to create rather than to learn because creating is the main element of life. Stem cells are the driving forces for the creation of life. If we want to go from laboratory to treating people with stem cells we need accessible large source of depository. Afterward, Prof. Burt introduced key findings of his researches and shared his experience with the audience.

Expressing his gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev for the organization of the Forum, Prof. Salter, said “any serious discussion of the humanitarian dimension of world affairs must incorporate the humanities to complement the perspectives of science and technology.” According to him, once static identities are exposed to frequently changing environments influenced by the Internet. Prof. Salter noted the importance of discussions on postmodern perspectives of literature, art, architecture, society and politics.

Prof. Robert Skidelski, Director of the Center for Global Studies (United Kingdom), was to chair the round table “Humanitarian Aspects of Economic Development.”

Prof. Skidelski, concentrated his speech around recent financial crisis, subsequent recovery and economic sustainability. Referring to the writings of Keynes, he made it clear that productivity is not stimulated by exchange of goods and services. Indicating housing market as an example, he reiterated the fact that modern economies exhibit speculative features and it does not have an impact on output levels. Therefore, the world experiences jobless recovery. Developing technologies substitute employees, making people to play more of a role of consumers rather than producers. Moreover, he recommended policymakers to focus on other measurements of living standards instead of GDP in order to pay attention to quality not to quantity.

Mr. Kemal Öztürk, Chairman of the Board and Director General of Turkish Anadolu News Agency (Turkey), took the floor as the chairman of the round table “The Topical Issues of Mass Media in the Globalizing Information Network.”

Mr. Öztürk informed the audience about recent developments in the Middle East and stated that the situation is exacerbating. Despite death tolls, world powers maintain their silence, pursue their own interests. Furthermore, he declared UN Security Council’s structure and its decision-makin process ineffective. Mr. Öztürk called everyone to act in unity and end this humanitarian catastrophe.